


When the Cards All Fold

by SomeSuperHero



Series: Family Nature AU [5]
Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Comic-Con, F/F, F/M, Fire, Jane dresses up like a dude for fun, Nothing good lasts long, Pride, Rainbows, but for LBGTQ+/ GSA members, sorta - Freeform, tiny scene with shots of volka
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:27:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26473393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomeSuperHero/pseuds/SomeSuperHero
Summary: TARDIS - Trans And Relative Dimensions In Sexuality- is hosting their Pride Expo....... Just some good old pride stuff, but nothing good lasts long.Watch this vid I found on YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=w63tDyYYbAw
Relationships: Bill Potts / Heather, Human! Thirteenth Doctor/ Yasmin Khan, clara oswald/ danny pink
Series: Family Nature AU [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1845757
Kudos: 2





	1. Pride Expo

**Author's Note:**

> I USE JACOB AND JANE (as well as the pronouns) INTERCHANGEABLELY ON PURPOSE.... Please don't come after me.  
> Song title from 'Demons' by Imagine Dragons.  
> You haven't lived until you see this:
> 
> https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=o28KcjYAdek

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pride!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have never been to Comic-con or a pride parade so this is purely imagination.

Yaz had never been to a pride.... Anything, but as soon as Jane had showed her the flyer for TARDIS, Yaz was pumped and Saturday couldn't come fast enough. Atleast she had time to pick out something to wear. Maybe just a purple flannel, jeans, and a bi pride shirt. Yes, that would do quite nicely. Or maybe it was too plain and stereotypical. She was bringing her thumbs up and finger guns already.

\------

Jane had the opposite problem. She had gone to these since she was nineteen and was now a council member. She knew what to wear, because she had worn basically the same thing every time. Just she remembered binders being alittle less hard to squeeze into.

"Good night, Jenny," Jane said, as Jenny climbed the stairs to her attic bedroom. "'Night," she grumbled back. She had been in such a mood lately, and Jane tried to talk to her about it. Jenny wouldn't say anything about it. "Okay," she whispered, kinda hurt, then grabbed the truck keys. "Bye," she told her dad and went out.

John looked upstairs and sighed, pressing the save button on his lesson plans, and closed the laptop. He climbed the stairs and knocked on the door. "Jenny?" There wasn't an answer. "Jenny?" There was a creak of the bed.

"Come in," she said, and John pushed the door open. Jenny was turned away from him. "Are you okay?" 

"Don't know why you care." Her voice sounded accusing, and John sat on her bed. "Go away." She was crying, John could hear it in her voice, "I do care. Very much. What wrong?" Jenny turned to him. "Do you ever feel lost?"

"Lost how?" 

"Like you don't know what to do because you are small.... I read in my world atlas book that there are over 5 billion people on this planet... And that's a big number. Really big."

John stroked his granddaughter's hair. "Listen, Jenny, and your mother will tell you the same thing, but I've never met a person who was small and unimportant, especially you. Who else will track mud in my house after a storm?" Jenny giggled. "That's because if you jump in muddy puddles, you must wear your boots." 

"Well, of course. You can't jumpin muddy puddles with sandshoes." John started ticking her stomach, and Jenny howled with laughter. "Quit it, Granddad. I have to go to sleep." 

"No, you don't. How about this? You can stay up for another hour." Jenny's eyes widened. "But then it will be nine o'clock!"

John smiled. "Yeah, want to?" Jenny nodded. "Okay!"

"Just don't tell your mum." Jenny got up on her knees and gave him a bear hug. "I love you, Granddad."

"Is that only because I'm letting you stay up later?" Jenny swatted at him. "No, silly." 

_Yes_ , John thought, _that's exactly why. But she's six and gets a pass on that._

\-----

When Yaz heard the knock, she was still debating on wearing the dress with the rainbow stripe diagonally across the chest and stomach. Why was this so damn hard?

"I'll get it," Ryan called, and Yaz threw down the dress in a disgruntled huff.

\-----

Yaz's girlfriend looked familiar , too fimaliar. "Jane?" He asked, and she blinked. "Ryan Sinclair?" He nodded, and she knocked him into a bear hug. "Oh, man, I've missed you." She pulled back. "You've grown."

"And you haven't changed one bit." Well, except for the glue- on sideburns. She looked down a her shoes. "I'm really sorry about your nan, Ryan. I was going to go to the funeral, but I was in labor that day. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, I understand. I'm sorry about your mum." Jane nodded. "Thanks." Yaz joined them, shocked. "You know each other?" Jane nodded. "Yeah, I used to go to his grandparents' cafe everyday. Well, until I got pregnant with Jenny."

"How long ago was that?" Ryan asked, and Jane almost started crying. "Six years." She hugged him again, and he tightened his hold on her. He was one of the only people who knew that---

\------

Yaz was in shock. Truely shocked. Not because Jane looked like a dude, not even because Yaz was pretty sure she was binding (and probably packing, too), but because Ryan had other friends outside of the Khans.

Jane pulled away and sniffed. "Are you ready to go, Yaz?" Yaz opened her mouth, but then closed it again. "What about that?" She pointed to what Yaz was wearing ." That looks beautiful on you.... Or maybe you're just beautiful to begin with." Ryan sniggered, and Jane hit him softly. "Shut up."

"Aww, she's nervous," Ryan laughed," How adorable." Jane's face flushed, and she immediately looked away like she felt guilty. Yaz looked down at her clothes. "Are you sure? It's not even rainbow or pride colors."

Jane smiled. "You don't have to wear rainbows, Yaz."

"No, Yaz, rainbows are only for the elites.," Ryan joked. Jane shook her head, "No, that's the drag." Yaz pulled down Jane's blue baseball cap over her eyes, and they all started laughing. "Besides, tie-dye is cool." Yaz shugged. "Alright, then." Yaz took Jane's hand. "Let's get a shift on."

\------

The expo center in Sheffield was huge, but it wasn't like you could miss it either way. The twenty-two pride flags hung on the plain white building could probably be seen from space. "Ready?" Jane grabbed Yaz's hand, and Yaz nodded. 

The first thought Yaz had entering the building was _Is this gay Comic-Con,_ because that's what it looked like _._ Hundreds of people were there. Some talked , some eating food form the food stands, some dancing, a few snogging, many were waiting in line to get their picture taken tin front too thier flag. _I Wanna_ _Be Your Girlfriend_ by Girl In Red blasterd through the speakers, loudly.

"Over here, Yaz." Jane pulled her to a table with two guys in drag were sitting. "Hello, Jacob," one said, smiling, and Yaz had to take a minute to figure out she was talking to Jane. "'Sup, Fankie," she smiled and sign her name on a sign-up sheet, as Jane, then a name tag as Jacob. Then put her age(30) and gender (female) on the name tag. She stuck it to the front of her full rainbow polo. 

"Sign your name on the sheet, Yaz," Jane- Jacob- said. "And your name on the tag. Age, gender, and orientation is optional. Yaz signed and put down her name and gender on the little slip. She stuck it to her shirt.

"Thank you, Darling," The one called Frankie said.

"Done?" Yaz nodded, still nervous, and Jane grabbed her hand again. "So what do you want to do first. We've got books to check out. We could do shots. Or make out in front of the protesters. Or look at the exhibits. Or what awhat ever you want."

Yaz looked around., overwhelmed . "Can we eat first? Then we can check out the exhibits. That chicken smells great." Jacob nodded. "Okay!" They were standing in line, now listening to Sam Smith's _Him,_ whenYaz heard somebody asked. "Jane?" Jane spun around. "Clara!" Jane's arms went around Clara's neck. "Okay, okay. Calm down, Jane. You just saw me yesterday." Jane pulled back. "Yeah, but it's different seeing you out of school. Hey, Danny!" She wrapped her arms around her (gender on the name tag) boyfriend (also gender on name tag). 

"So, who's this?" Clara asked, and Yaz smiled. "She's Yaz, my girlfriend," Jacob said, exited. "Yaz, this is Clara and Danny. They work with me at the school."

"Cool, what do you teach?" Yaz asked. "I teach maths," Danny said," And she teaches history." Yaz turned to Jane. "Which makes you the Engish teacher?" Jane nodded. "Yep." Yaz laughed. 

"Next," the clerk said, and Yaz and Jacob approached the counter. "Whadda want, Yaz?" 

"A number two, please." Yaz pulled out her wallet from her small pocket. Before she could pull the two dollars out, Jane stopped her. "You paid last time, Yaz," she reminded Yaz. "It's fine." She handed it over, and the clerk called out the order, as he fished out fifty cents. Jane ordered the same thing, and they both waited for Clara and Danny to get food.

"Go to the side counter," he said. Yaz followed his direction and went to the side, where a slice of pizza on a paper plate and a can of coke was waiting. Jane grabbed hers and said to come on. They say at a round table, and Clara and Danny soon joined them.

"So, how long have you two known each other?" Danny asked, and Jane looked at Yaz, then back at Danny. "About a month-ish?" Yaz said, before taking a bit of the gooey cheese pizza, and Jacob nodded. "Yeah, about." A couple slid into the chairs beside Jacob and Yaz. 

"Hello, Jane. Hello, new person," the one named Bill greeted, and Clara turned to start a conversation with Danny. 

Jacob smiled, his eyes lit up even more. "Bill, I didn't know you were going to be here this year with all those trips you're taking."

"Of course, this is brilliant. This is your first year here?" She asked Yaz, and Yaz nodded. "How do you know?"

"With the exception of the drag queens, I've noticed every girl here, even made out with a few..... I would've remembered a face like yours." Jane looked at Bill. "Oy, you've got a girlfriend, Bill. Yaz is mine."

"Oh, bite me." 

Jane opened her mouth, probably to make a filthy comment, but changed her mind and ate the last of the stuffed crust. Bill smirked. "So, how much do you know about her?" Yaz was confused. "What do you mean?" 

"I figured you two are together, but she doesn't talk that much, not even when we dated...... How much do you know about her?" 

"You two dated? How long ago?" Heather put her head on Bill's shoulder. "About a year ago. Jenny thought I was weird, though." 

"Jenny thinks everyone is a little weird, so don't take it personal, Bill," Jane stated, and Bill rolled her eyes. "Is that why you two broke up?" Yaz asked, and Bill shook her head. "Just wasn't working out. " Yaz could tell there was more to the story, but she wasn't telling. 

Yaz looked around. "Hey, do you want to check out the exhibit?" Jacob smile had returned. "Okay. You four coming?" Clara threw ice daggers from her eyes, but Bill won the starring contest. "Actually, I got to get home. I've got lesson plans to write out," Clara said, and Jane looked at Bill and Heather hopefully.

"Guess so." 

It was a presentation about Sappho and her lesbo island and about different writers and people in history being queer, starting with William Shakespeare. 

Jane couldn't stop laughing. "What?" Yaz asked, and Jacob had to take a moment to compose himself. "When I was seven, my dad convinced us kids that he was a time traveler. My brother, James, being six and already reading Shakespeare, thought he wanted to grow up and marry him. Then it was Queen Elizabeth the First..... Still it's not as bad as John, he wanted to marry Van Gogh and help him through his depression."

"Who did you want to marry?" Jane took a deep breath. "You're going to laugh at me."

"No, I'm not. I promise."

"Nikola Telsa.... Hey, you said you weren't going to laugh!" Yaz couldn't help herself. "Tesla? Why Tesla?" Jane shrugged. "He was smart and cute, okay..... Now, I get why my parents already knew I was pan."

"Pan?"

"Pan, bi, whatever. Either way, have you seen a picture of Tesla?" Yaz decided to be funny. "Tesla? Oh, yeah. Met him even. Did you know he basically invented wi-fi when internet didn't exist?"

. "Yes, I did know that. So, ha!" A guy passed around of condoms, and Jane pretend not to notice her face flushing, as she grabbed a couple. It did kind of rude passing up free things. 

The opening notes of _Believer_ played and Yaz's eyes widened, as she grabbed Jacob's hand and pulled her to the dance floor. She started to sing along with just about the enitre house.

_First things first  
I'ma say all the words inside my head  
I'm fired up and tired of the way that things have been, oh-ooh  
The way that things have been, oh-ooh_

Jane was funny dance that seemed to fit with the song, and it seemed like she practiced it a lot.

_Second thing second  
Don't you tell me what you think that I can be  
I'm the one at the sail, I'm the master of my sea, oh-ooh  
The master of my sea, oh-ooh_

Yaz couldn't dance so she just bobbed her head, but Jane was still funny.

_I was broken from a young age  
Taking my sulking to the masses  
Writing my poems for the few  
That look at me, took to me, shook to me, feeling me  
Singing from heartache, from the pain  
Taking my message from the veins  
Speaking my lesson from the brain  
Seeing the beauty through the_

Jane was waving her arms in the air like drunk giraffe, but the rest.of the crowd followed suit, digging the dance moves. 

_(Pain)  
You made me a, you made me a believer, believer  
(Pain)  
You break me down, you build me up, believer, believer  
(Pain)  
Oh, let the bullets fly, oh, let them rain  
My life, my love, my drive, it came from  
(Pain)  
You made me a, you made me a believer, believer_

_Third things third  
Send a prayer to the ones up above  
the hate that you've heard has turned your spirit to a dove, oh-ooh  
Your spirit up above, oh-ooh_

_I was choking in the crowd  
Building my rain up in the cloud  
Falling like ashes to the ground  
Hoping my feelings, they would drown_

_But they never did, ever lived, ebbing and flowing  
Inhibited, limited_   
_'Til it broke open and rained down  
It rained down, like_

_(Pain)  
You made me a, you made me a believer, believer  
(Pain)  
You break me down, you build me up, believer, believer  
(Pain)  
Oh, let the bullets fly, oh, let them rain  
My life, my love, my drive, it came from_  
(Pain)  
You made me a, you made me a believer, believer

_Last things last  
By the grace of the fire and the flames  
You're the face of the future, the blood in my veins, oh-ooh  
The blood in my veins, oh-ooh_

_But they never did, ever lived, ebbing and flowing  
Inhibited, limited  
'Til it broke open and rained down  
It rained down, like_

_(Pain)  
You made me a, you made me a believer, believer  
(Pain)  
You break me down, you build me up, believer, believer  
(Pain)_   
_Oh, let the bullets fly, oh, let them rain  
My life, my love, my drive, it came from  
(Pain)  
You made me a, you made me a believer, believer_

The crowd settled, laughing and clapping and cheering. Jane turned to Yaz, kinda sweaty and breathing heavy. "I love that song!" 

"I can tell." Jacob hugged her, his soft nose buried into Yaz's neck, nuzzled once and let go. "I gotta go to the bathroom, than we can do a couple of shots, if you want to."

"Sure."

\-----

After catching two girls throughly enjoying themselves, Jane decided to go use the one on the other side of the room. When coming back, she saw someone outside, looking distraught. Jane pushed open the door. "Alright?" She asked the girl, and the girl looked up. "Fine." 

She was not fine. "You sure?" The girl nodded, and leaned on the building. She looked scared. "What's wrong?" Her fist was clenched.

"I'm gay," she whispered. 

"That's okay. You'll find loads of them here."

"No, you don't understand. I'm gay."

"Okay.... You're gay. Load of people are gay. Just look." Jane pointed through the glass doors. "I know. That's why I came here...."

"Oh, you're scared someone will recognize you?" She nodded. "Well, then if there against the gays, then why are they here?"

"To beat the hell out of them? Us?" Jane shook her head. "No, this is a safe space." The girl looked at what was clenched in her fist. It was an outline of a cross necklace, and it had imprinted in her hand. She looked at it and let it fall through her fingers. It hit the concrete. "I can't be what He wants me to be......" She stepped through the doors. 

Jane picked it up and stuffed it into her pocket. She went back in to pick up a pamphlet, a notecard, and a pen. 

_**You don't have to give up your religion to be gay, nor do you have to give up being gay to be religious. Being gay or Trans or queer or whatever doesn't lock you out of the Golden Gates of Heaven. People can be both and accepted by both. I accept people for what they do and not by thier religious practices or or orientation or even by thier occupation or skin color. I accept people for people, and you will find more that do.**_

_**Jane 'Jacob' Smith** _

Ittook a couple of mintues to find the girl again, but when she did, Jane handed her the pamphlet, her necklace, and the notecard. Right before she was going to walk away, the girl hugged her. "Thank you," she cried, and Jane hugged her back. "It's okay. It's okay."

\----

"You've been a while, so I already ordered you a shot of Volka."

"Thanks, " Jane said, taking it. She wasn't a Volka girl, she preferred whisky, like her dad, but she dunked it back anyway. She winced at the burn and set it back down, realizing she head only took about half. Yaz finished her's though. "Listen, Jane. I know why you broke up with Bill."

Jacob gagged. "What did she tell you?" Yaz ordered another, since she wasn't driving. "About you and Jenny.... And why you wander off whenever anytime things get heated between us." Yaz dunked the second one back, and Jane grabbed her shir, throwing seventy-five cents onto the counter. "Come on," Jane said, and pulled her outside. Jane shoved Yaz against the wall, kissing her harshly. Jane gripped her hair and trailed kisses to her jaw. No,no,no, Jane, don't loose it now, she thought....... But she did. Jane pulled away. "I can't... I'm sorry I can't." Yaz held her shoulders. "I know. It okay. We'll take our time." See, this would just be easier if she was an ace, but, no, instead she was ace's evil twin, bi... Or aces' twin would actually be poly, but that want the point.

\-----

The rest of the expo was uneventful. It felt better with Yaz, holding her hand, tightly. Jane just didn't want to let go. Even when Yaz wanted a couple more drinks.

"Are you drunk?" Jacob asked her, and Yaz shrugged, leading into Jane's shoulder. "Alright, Bill, Heather. We're going to go." Yaz groaned. "We don't haveta go." Jane smiled. "Yes, we do." It was easy getting Yaz into the truck and buckling her down after yeas spent getting a cranky Jeeny buckled into her car seat.

Jane pulled up to her home, pulled Yaz out of the car, and brought her inside. She laid Yaz on the purple couch and went to get a blanket. After tossing it over her, Jane went to her room to change her clothes ( she was so happy to be able to breathe again!) and scrubbed the side burns off.

She brushed her teeth, turned out the lights and hit the hay.  
\------

Beep- beep- beep- beep- beep. Beep- beep- beep- beep- beep. Beep- beep- beep- beep- beep. Beep- beep- beep- beep- beep.

Jane heard the sound, but it didn't register in her mind, so she just turned over. Then she smelled the smoke. Her eyes flew open. Fire, she thought.

She hopped up and turned on the lights. Covering her mouth with her shirt against the already dense fog, she pulled open the door. Hot, red flames danced on the celing. Jane started to choke, but forged forward, hearing her dad's snoring. Jane busted through the door. "Dad!" She yelled, shaking him. "Wake up!" John blinked awake. "Jane, what? You're too old to sleep in your parents-" He stopped, his eyes adjusting to the the fog. He hopped up and grabbed his pants.

She didn't hear Yaz sleeping, so she supposed she was already outside. The house creaked, and more burning peices fell to the ground, lighting over this on fire. Jane snatched her parents's wedding picture off the mantel, and the VHS tape of Jenny's first birthday off the bookshelf. John grabbed The Time Traveler's Wife , and together headed out of the home.

Yaz was waiting for them, but Jenny wasn't. Jane looked at her home. The main flames looked like itwas coming from the attic. "Jenny!" Jane shouted at Yaz, tossing her the items. "She's still inside." Yaz reached out to grab her arm, but it was too late. Jane was running back in to save her daughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are requested. I know the pacing is a bit fast, but I wanted to get this done, since it had been in my drafts folder forever.


	2. And The Saints We See Are Made of Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it is a head cannon that the Third Doctor had a crush on Lethbridge- Steward.

The house was burning, and it seem like it was coming from the attic. "Jenny!" Jane shouted at Yaz. "She's still inside." Yaz reached out to grab her arm, but it was too late. Jane was running back in to save her daughter.

Smoke covered the enitre house now, and Jane was already sweating. Scared tears ran down her face, as she climbed the stairs with the rails burning. Her foot sunk through the steps multiple times and her pjs had caught. Jane patted out the flame and pushed Jenny's door open. 

Everything was burning here, and it just seemed like a fire box. Jane yelled. "Jenny? Jenny?" The ceiling fell in, and Jenny screamed, which turned into a cough. Jane shoved aside a peice of sheet rock, the kicked a burnt book aside.

"Mum!" Jenny cried, and Jane spotted her. She was trapped under her flame- tried dresser, which must've crumpled ontop of her, and other things. "Jenny!" Jane squatted and put her hand under the dresser, sweat falling into her vision. Clenching her teeth, she let out a loud noise of struggle and picked it up. "Jenny, move!" She yelled, and Jenny cried. "I can't, Mummy. I can't move my legs!"

Jane put some more wieght into the lifting. "Try, please. With your arms, please." _Oh, God, she was going to drop this...._ Jennytried, but she yelped and stopped trying, as soon as her pant leg caught fire. "Jenny, try again! Like Supergirl, come on, Jenny."

Jenny turned over and pulled herself forward, and Jane dropped the weight onto her foot. Jenny patted out the fire, and Jane pulled away, foot aching. Jane picked up her daughter, and limping, she carried Jenny out of the flaming house, going carefully down the stairs. 

Firefighters were spraying water on the house, and an EMT took Jenny from Jane. Jane blinked, hardly feeling the weigh being lifted from her. She staggered for a few minutes and with that she was out. 

\------

The green grass was splattered with blood and splinced limbs, and Jane ran through the battle field, looking for wounded from either side of the battle. Her own members was to be fixed and others were to be helped for hostage purposes. Either way, people needed her help, and she was the doctor, never refusing to help.

Guns shots. She heard gun shots, and then a person screaming. A person she didn't even know. She approached the man and leaned over his body, his uniform didn't match hers. 

She pulled out supplies, but he grabbed her arm. "Don't," he garbled, and Jane yanked away, trying to fix him, but she couldn't. He had been struck in his heart. She whimpered. She had never watched someone die before. "What's your name?" He asked, stroking her cheek with the back of his hand, reminding her of an old friend. "Jane. Who are you?"

"Alistair," He said, and the last name stitched on his coat. "Thank you, Jane, for being with me." _When you die,_ she finished for him. He gripped her hand and closed his eyes. The grip became loose, and he was gone. 

\--------

Jane woke slowly, blinking, her eyes adjusting to the bright hospital lights. "Dr. Smith, how nice of you to join us." Jane looked up to see the doctor. "Well, how else was I going to see you, Dr. Jones?" Martha Jones smiled and looked through her clipboard. 

"Where's Jenny?" 

"She's fine. Her legs were just asleep from that weight, but you, Doctor, got a lung full of that smoke. Looked like you were having a seizure."

Jane looked down at the itchy hospital blanket. "Probably just my PTSD, Doctor Jones. I feel fine." Martha nodded. "Yes, and as soon as you get dressed, you're allowed to go."

Dr. Smith looked at her. "You should swing by the house more often." Martha smiled. "You know, after we get it fixed." 

"Okay... Just stop by the reception to fill out the paper work."

Jane knew she wasn't being rude, just had other people to see. 

After she finished the paper work, she called Yaz, who had Jenny and a bad hangover. "Can you come and pick me up, please?" Jane asked, and Yaz said,"Sure. I'll be there in just a moment."

\---------

They had stopped at the house first, before going to Yaz's flat. It was just about completely destroyed, just one room hardly even touched, ( except the caved in room)and it was Jane's. It was standing there alone. Jane sighed, looking into it. She moved some things and reached under her bed. Something she had forgotten to get, and probably too big to get. It was a cardboard box with her Army stuff in it. Jane opened it, remembering the flashback, dream, whatever you wanted to call it. 

She pulled out the jacket, and she felt a hand on her shoulder. Jane dropped it, stood, and hugged her. "I thought I wasn't going to be able to save her..... I was so scared, Yaz."

Yaz held tightly. "You did though. You saved her." Jane nodded. "But what if I couldn't have. She would've died. It would've been my fault." Jane couldn't help it. She started crying. "It's okay."

"No, Yaz, it's not okay! I've seen people die before! I can't lose her. Not my daughter, too!" Yaz rubbed her back, and Jane nuzzled her head in the nape of Yaz's neck. "Not her. Never her."

They stood like that for a few more minutes and pulled apart. "Where'd Dad go?"

"To London. He didn't want to be a burden while things were crazy, so he left money and went." With all the craziness, Jane started crying about something else. "My house burnt down?" She looked at the charred house. "Yep, house burnt down.... Where am I going to stay? Where is Jenny going to stay?" Jane put her hands on her head, fingers on temples. "And she has school tomorrow! Everything's gone!"

Gut- wrenching tears turned into sobs. "Oh, God. I'm a terrible person. I should've packed away some emergency bag!" Jane started to pace. "With extra clothes.... And I'm still in my pjs, but no, a damned VHS tape was so damn important!" Yaz had never heard Jane curse before, and it had snapped her out of the slight daze. "Jane.... Jane... Jane! It's not your fault."

Jane stopped, and Yaz said," Do you know why your house caught on fire?" Jane shook her head. "It was a lamp in the attic. It over-heated during the night..... And for what it's worth, I watched the tape with Jenny. She thinks it's special. She loved it."

"It _is_ special, Yaz. That was her first birthday. An entire year with Jenny, and it hardly felt like a week. Time flies by so fast when you're a mother. It's hard not to enjoy the little things, like Christmas and birthdays." 

Jane wiped her eyes, and Yaz brought her in for another hug. "Where are we going to stay?"

"My house, of course, but you and Jenny will have to share a pull-out sofa mattress." Yaz smiled, with made Jane's heart lift. "Tomorrow, you and Jenny can have the day off, to replace essential items, okay?" Yaz scratched Jane's head, even though Jane was slightly taller. 

"We are going to get through this, Jane. Trust me." Jane looked up at Yaz, feeling like that meant for so many things.

**Author's Note:**

> Koudos and comments are appreciated.


End file.
